Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

China is 61.5% cheaper than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 85.0% less in China
Groceries: pay 59.1% less in China
Transportation: pay 68.8% less in China
Housing: pay 75.3% less in China
Childcare: pay 16.5% less in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.6% less in China
Clothing: pay 60.2% less in China

Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries are lower in China.

China vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in China instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 85.0% less for restaurants

	Iceland	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.52 ISK3,394	$2.90 CN¥20.50	-89.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.32 ISK2,728	$5.02 CN¥35.49	-76.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK398	$0.47 CN¥3.36	-84.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.72 ISK348	$0.28 CN¥1.96	-89.8%
Average			-85.0%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.1% less for groceries

	Iceland	China
Bread 1 loaf	$3.80 ISK487	$1.63 CN¥11.52	-57.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$6.32 CN¥44.71	-33.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK996	$6.70 CN¥47.44	-13.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.71 ISK859	$1.56 CN¥11.05	-76.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.22 ISK1,436	$1.52 CN¥10.78	-86.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK191	$0.74 CN¥5.25	-50.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ISK147	$0.55 CN¥3.86	-52.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 ISK181	$0.62 CN¥4.41	-55.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.34 ISK300	$0.50 CN¥3.57	-78.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 ISK211	$0.30 CN¥2.13	-81.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.09 ISK140	$0.39 CN¥2.79	-63.9%
Average			-59.1%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 68.8% less for transportation

	Iceland	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.65 ISK1,235	$4.34 CN¥30.68	-55.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.56 ISK10,182	$20.32 CN¥143.78	-74.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,144.25 ISK6,289,481	$19,143.98 CN¥135,449.43	-61.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.55 ISK3,270	$3.94 CN¥27.89	-84.6%
Average			-68.8%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 75.3% less for housing

	Iceland	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.65 ISK12,241	$11.18 CN¥79.08	-88.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,289.17 ISK292,968	$304.90 CN¥2,157.22	-86.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,830.04 ISK234,209	$195.65 CN¥1,384.25	-89.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.15 ISK8,338	$41.04 CN¥290.39	-37.0%
Average			-75.3%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 16.5% less for childcare

	Iceland	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$334.67 ISK42,830	$390.25 CN¥2,761.13	+16.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$15,493.57 CN¥109,621.66	-49.6%
Average			-16.5%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.14 ISK1,426	$1.04 CN¥7.37	-90.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 ISK720	$2.84 CN¥20.07	-49.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.90 ISK1,778	$3.36 CN¥23.77	-75.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.17 ISK10,004	$41.13 CN¥290.99	-47.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.75 ISK2,144	$5.98 CN¥42.33	-64.3%
Average			-65.6%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.2% less for clothing

	Iceland	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$130.91 ISK16,753	$45.93 CN¥324.95	-64.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.83 ISK7,913	$30.93 CN¥218.85	-50.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.81 ISK20,965	$71.26 CN¥504.18	-56.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$237.31 ISK30,371	$72.88 CN¥515.65	-69.3%
Average			-60.2%

Iceland vs. China - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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